Victor,
I am sorry that you are having bad experiences with your doctors. I wouldn't want their job, would you? They deal with patients who are in extreme pain, anxiety, fear and death. It takes a special person to work in oncology. Much of it is just luck of the draw. I had really good doctors and I was very proactive in every aspect of my diagnosis and treatment. None of my doctors were gone during my treatment phase and with expedited tests, etc., it was still about 2 months before treatment started. Maybe you're better off with a doctor who has had a vacation and comes back to this with a fresh outlook and attitude. I am still seeing all of my original doctors (one of which is now a cancer survivor himself) after 5 1/2 years post Tx.

About the mask - you won't lose weight fast enough to make the fit a huge difference. I lost 61 lbs. and they never refitted the mask.

You were wise not to complain to your new doctor - he(she) probably wouldn't comment on it anyway for legal reasons. Cisplatin is typically given in conjunction with radiation so my first day of treatment began with radiation then to trip across the Bay Bridge for infusion.

I have never heard the term "surgical oncologist" before. Do you have a head & neck surgeon or ENT?

If you want to have some insurance about "good" then try and get into a CCC.

This is a tough disease and many here have made extraordinary steps to fight it. I traveled 60 miles each day for RT because the CCC where I was being treated was one of the best. It sucked and as treament progressed and I got sicker and sicker (and weaker as well) it was a very difficult time. The San Francisco Bay Area also has some of the worst traffic in the nation, which just added to the misery.

I am not sure I completely understand your treatment protocol. Correct me if I am wrong. You are currently getting induction chemo, then you will have surgery, and a short break for healing and then you start RT? You may wish to breifly include your treatment protocol in your signature line so we can better understand what you are going through.